Wooll-drier



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L. s. BLAKE.

. Woo! Drier. No. 105,891. Patented Aug. 2, 1870,

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erasur FFIGE Lucius s. BLAKE, BA E; WISCONSiNP QWQoIl DR E Q Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 105,891, dated August 2, 1870. l l d I "i. ii

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUoIUs S. BLAKE, of Racine, in the county of Racine and State of Wisconsin,have invented a new and Improved Machine for Drying Wool; and I do hereby and transversely throughthe improved ma- Fig. 2, Plate chineon one side of its center. 1, is a top view of the machine with screen removed. Fig.3, Plate 2, is a perspective view of the fan. Fig. 4, Plate 2, is a section {taken in a vertical plane through the machine at right angles to the plane of the section of Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention has for its object the drying of wool by forcing into and through it currents of cool air. V i

It consists, first, in the employment of air guides or directors within the fan-chamber and below the screen on which the wool lies,

and in connecting said guides or directors to the sides of the frame of the machine in such manner that theycank be adjusted and set at different angles for directing the currents of air upwardly through the said screen-support to operate to the best advantage on the wool; second, in constructing'tl'ie chamber in which the fan is arranged with a double-inclined floor, terminating in a concave portion directly beneath the fan, and. a screen or perforated roof, whereby the currents of air drawn into said chamber at the ends of the fan are all directed upwardly to and through the wool in a manner superior to machines of this class hitherto constructed, as will be hereinafter explained; third, in the employment, in a wooldryin g machine, hereinafter described, of a fan having a circular diaphragm or division-board applied at the'middle of its length, and adapted'for connecting the force of the inflowin g currents upon each other and securing an even blast, as will be hereinafter explained.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will' explain its construction and operation.

The body or frame A of the machine is of arectangular form, housed in, and made with openings 0 O at the extremities of a fan, F, for the influx of air induced by this fan. The horizontal portions 0 c of said frame have secured to them the bearing-boxes for the fanshaft d, which shaft is provided with a driving belt-drum, g, on one end. To the radial arms of the fan the blades 1) b are secured in a slightly oblique manner, and at the middle of the length of the fan a circular diaphragm or partition, 71., is appliedconcentrically, the object of which is to divide the inflowing currents of air and cause a uniform blast. If this diaphragm h were not used as described, the two currents of air flowing into the fanchamber through the two opposite openings 0 0 would blend and produce eddies in the center of the machine.

Beneath the fan is a concave, D, and extending from the upper termini of this concave to horizontal cross-pieces c c at the ends of the machine are inclined boards B B, which, with the concave D, constitute the floor of the fan-chamber, and operate to direct the currents of air upwardly and preventing circular or eddying currents.

The roof of the fan-chamber consists of a perforated plate, or, preferably, a wire screen, G, secured to a frame, and supported horizontally upon cross-pieces c c of the frame of the machine. Upon this screen the wool lies while it is being dried by the currents of air forced through it.

directors I secure an equal blast upon all por- .tions of the screen 0, and consequently upon the wool on this screen.

It is obvious that more than one fan may be arranged within the fan-chamber side by side,

substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

3 The combination of the fan F, having partition h, the longitudinal concave D, having holes 0 O in each of its end pieces or heads,

longitudinal inclined guide-boards B B, adjustable directors a a, and sieve O 0 c, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

LUOIUS S. BLAKE. Witnesses B. B. BLAKE, SAMUEL G. KNIGHT. 

